The Broncos’ Malik Jackson head butts the Bills’ Lee Smith after a rough play in the second quarter of a game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Dec. 7, 2014. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Malik Jackson played his best game of the season last Sunday. He wanted a game ball, he told defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. Instead, he received an $8,268 fine for unnecessary roughness from the league on Friday.

Jackson was not penalized on the play in which he delivered a head butt to a Bills player at the end of a play. Players can be docked without an infraction called. Jackson finished with six tackles, two for a loss, and a sack in the Broncos’ win.

Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis controls the ball against Oakland Raiders defense in the first quarter at Denver on Jan. 2, 2002. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

The story goes that the last time the Broncos won the Super Bowl John Elway was quarterback. Terrell Davis also started at running back. Elway never won the big game without Davis. And the Broncos haven’t won since both retired.

As you can imagine, Davis, a Hall of Fame finalist, loves the Broncos’ reconfigured offense. From the NFL Network studios, he watches with interest as Denver makes a playoff push with undrafted bruiser C.J. Anderson complementing Peyton Manning.

“I am biased. But I love it. You need to run. We all know that Peyton is really good. But sometimes during games, he goes through a stretch where he needs help,” Davis said last week. “What better way to settle things down at home or on the road than to run the ball. It’s the perfect medicine.”

From left, DeMarcus Ware, Von Miller and Terrance Knighton of the Denver Broncos. Von Miller and Ware have been popular in Pro Bowl voting among fans. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Peyton Manning has lost ground in the MVP conversation to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. But not in the Pro Bowl voting. The Broncos quarterback leads all players with 576,445 votes. Rodgers ranks second (498,826) followed by Andrew Luck (468,412) and Brady (461,043).

Von Miller remains first among outside linebackers. Miller, who owns 10 sacks, has 165,045 votes, leaving him well ahead of Justin Houston’s 125,106.

Multiple Broncos rank second at their positions. The group includes left tackle Ryan Clady (122,432), cornerback Aqib Talib (131,715), defensive end DeMarcus Ware (217,401) and tight end Julius Thomas (241,570). Thomas leads the Broncos with 12 touchdown receptions.

Fan voting runs online at NFL.com through Dec. 15. The Pro Bowl players are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players who will be eligible for the Pro Bowl Draft. NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on Dec. 19.

The Pro Bowl players will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 23 and assigned to teams through a draft, the second year of the process of an “unconferenced” game. The game is set for Jan. 25, 2015, from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Julius Thomas heads to the locker room after injuring his ankle in the first half against the Rams. The injury will keep him from playing against the Dolphins. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

The Broncos will look to rebound without the NFL’s top scoring weapon. Tight end Julius Thomas, who has 12 touchdown receptions, will be inactive for Sunday’s home game against the Dolphins, the Post confirmed.

Peyton Manning drops back to pass during last Sunday’s game in Oakland. Manning was 31-of-44, with 340 yards and five touchdowns in the win. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Rams coach Jeff Fisher spent years as a defensive assistant and coordinator with three different NFL teams and has placed an emphasis on developing a solid pass rush with this team, starting with defensive end Robert Quinn and rookie tackle Aaron Donald.

“With all due respect to the Colts and that system, the system is completely different now,” Fisher said Wednesday. “Everybody is moving around, as compared to Marvin (Harrison) playing one side and Reggie (Wayne) on the other. (Manning) just made those plays and would put his offense in the best position all the time because he knew exactly what you were doing defensively. This offense is completely different. They’ve done an outstanding job of putting outstanding players around him. I think this is the best of cast of playmakers that he’s ever had, and obviously the results are showing that.”

Teammates selected Terrance Knighton as one of the team’s five captains. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

Leadership varies, coming in different sizes and voices.

The Broncos provided an example on Monday, naming their five captains. As voted on by the players, the holdovers were quarterback Peyton Manning and free safety/special teams ace David Bruton. Of more interest were the new faces: defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, defensive end DeMarcus Ware and receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Broncos coaches not named John Fox spoke to reporters at length following practice Thursday. And Adam Gase, the team’s offensive coordinator, was rather straightforward when asked about the Broncos’ running game, with their young set of backs, and how the offense has handled having to play a pair of solid defenses — Seattle last Thursday and San Francisco this coming Sunday — in their first two preseason games.

Here’s what Gase had to say:

On what he’s seen from the running game:
“For the most part, we’re a little more downhill this year. We do stretch it some but probably not as much as we were trying to last year. We’re using a little more of our gap schemes and running some power plays which has really developed a little bit different attitude for us. It makes it a little easier on our guys to say, ‘Hey, I’m just coming off the ball, and we’re going to be downhill.’”

On if the running game can help the defense:
“I think for what we’re doing right now, especially with our defense, they would say we’re probably running the ball better, and our downhill running game is probably helping them because now they’re seeing what they’re probably going to see in the regular season. I think it’s helping both sides of the ball.”

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.